Saturday, October 11, 2008

Why I support Barack Obama- Angela Severiano


By Angela Severiano

This year's presidential election is without a doubt, one of the most important in our nation's history. When HIPHOPREPUBLCIAN.COM asked me to write a feature on why I choose Obama, I was honored. Not only to share my voice, but also to share the voice and concerns of all Americans who are seeking change. Below I touch briefly on my top reasons for support, as I have watched Senator Barack Obama approach these issues with admiration.

  • His election will go a long way to repair the goodwill with our traditional allies that Bush has squandered with his emphasis on unilateral and preventative wars.

  • I admire Obama’s commitment to working across party lines, to solve urgent problems that face our entire country, as he did in the Illinois state legislature when he passed the state tax cut

  • Senator Obama is intellectually curious, meaning that he does not see all issues in stark terms of black or white. He sees the gray in many complex challenges.

  • His comparative youth makes him less wedded to conventional solutions and more willing to see alternatives. This is especially important in achieving energy independence, a goal with which no one seriously disagrees.

  • His election will be of huge symbolic importance to people of color in America. Racial healing is much more likely to occur, redeeming one conspicuous stain on American idealism.

  • The campaign has shown him to be controlled and measured in his rhetoric, unlike McCain who is way more likely to make an impetuous decision without having thought through its consequences.

  • This may sound harsh, but it is something that is real and needs to be addressed. Given McCain's age and medical history, there is a one in six chance that he will not survive for four years.

  • Are we ready for President Sarah?

  • Obama has refused to vilify our enemies, which makes him much more likely to be successful in negotiating with them when the inevitable crisis arises.

  • Obama is much more likely to deliver a health care plan that covers the vast majority of the 47 million Americans who do not have any coverage than the Republicans are; the GOP relies on privatization, misrepresenting it as "choice."
As I support Obama in all of these issues, I must also touch on what I see in him as a person. There is genuine warmth that Obama exudes. When I listen to him speak, I believe him. I consider him wise, noble and sincere and am certain that he truly wants what is best for us, not what is best for him or his ego.I want to close with an excerpt from legendary novelist and editor Toni Morrison's endorsement letter to Barack Obama:




“In thinking carefully about the strengths of the candidates, I stunned myself when I came to the following conclusion: that in addition to keen intelligence, integrity and a rare authenticity, you exhibit something that has nothing to do with age, experience, race or gender and something I don't see in other candidates. That something is a creative imagination which coupled with brilliance equals wisdom. It is too bad if we associate it only with gray hair and old age. Or if we call searing vision naivete. Or if we believe cunning is insight. Or if we settle for finessing cures tailored for each ravaged tree in the forest while ignoring the poisonous landscape that feeds and surrounds it. Wisdom is a gift; you can't train for it, inherit it, learn it in a class, or earn it in the workplace--that access can foster the acquisition of knowledge, but not wisdom.

When, I wondered, was the last time this country was guided by such a leader? Someone whose moral center was un-embargoed? Someone with courage instead of mere ambition? Someone who truly thinks of his country's citizens as "we," not "they"? Someone who understands what it will take to help America realize the virtues it fancies about itself, what it desperately needs to become in the world?

Our future is ripe, outrageously rich in its possibilities. Yet unleashing the glory of that future will require a difficult labor, and some may be so frightened of its birth they will refuse to abandon their nostalgia for the womb.

There have been a few prescient leaders in our past, but you are the man for this time.”


Our country is in vital need of a visionary leader to change its facing direction. I am convinced that Obama is ready to fill this need.

~Angela was a finalist in Fuse Music Television’s top new artist search for 2008. She has been a regular opener for Funkmaster Flex for his shows throughout the metropolitan area, and her recent collaboration with billboard top ten diva Gia7 on the CD “Dance Floor 2.0”, has been frequently played on Sirius Radio, Sprint Radio, as well as music stations across the nation. Currently a New York City resident Angela volunteers and performs for many charities and non-for profit institutions, including the Center Against Domestic Violence. She is politically active, running fundraisings activities for national, state, and local elected officials.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Props out to you for bring in the other side, keep it up. I don't agree with many of her points but this should go a long way towards showing how much our communities differs from the limousine liberals. SBM

Anonymous said...

Glad to see something new besides "hes black".I still think a lot of white people are voting for Obama out of guilt.
"Obama has refused to vilify our enemies, which makes him much more likely to be successful in negotiating with them when the inevitable crisis arises."
I dont know TOO many people that would negotiate with ENEMIES,I highly DOUBT countries that HATE us would seriously negotiate with us..its also not very safe.

Anonymous said...

To respond to your reasons...

"His election will go a long way to repair the goodwill with our traditional allies that Bush has squandered with his emphasis on unilateral and preventative wars."

Response - McCain has a much longer history, much more knowledgeable, has already been many many places, spoken to many many leaders and has been well respected in doing so for decades. Senator Obama has already been attempted to undermine the current administration's effort to reach a security pact with Iraq until he gets in office. Therefor undermining his own countries military, and active administration. So if he is willing to do that to his own country, what makes you think he won't do the same to "allies" he claims to want to deal with? Or how about looking at the emphasis on unilateral action and preemptive wars. Obama himself stated he would attack Pakistan if he thought he had people in his sights. Thats preemption.

"I admire Obama’s commitment to working across party lines, to solve urgent problems that face our entire country, as he did in the Illinois state legislature when he passed the state tax cut"

Response - Senator Obama has yet to show more then 5 things he has crossed party lines on. He has voted with his own party 98% of the time. Hardly shows crossing party lines.


"Senator Obama is intellectually curious, meaning that he does not see all issues in stark terms of black or white. He sees the gray in many complex challenges."

Response : His curiosity also left him sitting in a church that apparently preaches hate toward his own country. Curiosity killed the cat, we don't need a president who is curious. We need a president who can make a decision. Not show up 180+ times to vote present.

"His comparative youth makes him less wedded to conventional solutions and more willing to see alternatives. This is especially important in achieving energy independence, a goal with which no one seriously disagrees."

Response : Palin is younger. Palin has more experience. Palin has actually ran a company. Palin has been the governor of our countries largest energy producing state. Then you add the fact McCain has a long record of energy bills, Obama and Biden both voted against many ways to get us energy independent. Biden even called coal "dangerous". So if we were doing a comparison, the republican side dominates.

"His election will be of huge symbolic importance to people of color in America. Racial healing is much more likely to occur, redeeming one conspicuous stain on American idealism."

Response : We need a leader who can lead at a time of crisis. Not one who is here just for symbolism or healing. Currently this campaign has actually raised a lot of racial animosity through out America, groups such as the KKK even hoping he wins to further their cause, in which they recently announced since Obama started running, their recruiting is up over 100%. So I highly doubt some one with ties to a church that has a Reverend who preaches divisions is the best person to try and "unite" a nation. Perhaps Condi Rice is a better choice. Not Obama. Facts already show he's not uniting. He's dividing.

"The campaign has shown him to be controlled and measured in his rhetoric, unlike McCain who is way more likely to make an impetuous decision without having thought through its consequences."

Response : He called PA people Bitter and Clinging to guns and religion. Thats controlled? He said the Sermon Mount speech would be considered terrorist by our government. He said Leviticus was encouraging slavery, he said Deuteronomy said you could kill you kids. These sound controlled? If you meant controlled as in he beats around answering questions your right. Other then that. Way off base.

"This may sound harsh, but it is something that is real and needs to be addressed. Given McCain's age and medical history, there is a one in six chance that he will not survive for four years."

Response : Wow.. In response, given the fact Obama has disowned Islam makes him a target. The fact he said he never was, is taken badly already through out the Muslim world. The fact the KKK wants him dead, as do many other racist groups. And many people are in agreement some one will try and assassinate him strictly because they are radical?. Doesn't that make him equally as questionable?

"Are we ready for President Sarah?"

Response : Again, she is FAR more qualified then Obama. Facts speak for themselves. Even democratic Senators acknowledged a Governor does more work in 1 year then they do in 4. They are in a executive position. What exec position has Obama ever held? What has he ever ran? A Company? Sarah has. A State? Sarah has. A Economy? Sarah has. Obama has not. He's number one right now. Not #2.

"Obama has refused to vilify our enemies, which makes him much more likely to be successful in negotiating with them when the inevitable crisis arises."

Response : Iran has been preaching they will destroy us and Israel for 30 years. What do you possibly think will happen, Obama will resolve 30 years of built up hate? Give me a break. The world isn't filled with "lets all be friend" liberals. Who think if we leave you alone, you leave us alone. Thats simply a pipe dream. These people want a nuke. To stay in power, and grow to a regional power. Its in their own charter, their own Supreme leader stated it, their president stated it. Obama has 0 foreign policy experience.

"Obama is much more likely to deliver a health care plan that covers the vast majority of the 47 million Americans who do not have any coverage than the Republicans are; the GOP relies on privatization, misrepresenting it as "choice.""

Response : More debt. Health care system deterioration like the EU, where it takes 3 months to get a doctor visit. Or the UK where there is a 300,000 person waiting list for simple problems. When the government gets involved in things, things get even worse. This has already been proven.

Over all not one of the things you listed are even close to being a good reason. As I have proven every one to be wrong. Some utterly wrong. Which is a continued problem among people who focus only on one person's rhetoric. Aside from comparing. Which if you would have done you would have came to the same conclusions I am sure.

Anonymous said...

Obviously anonymous didnt feel confident enough to leave a name and rightly so as these rebuttals are nothing short of GARBAGE....... Palin more qualified than Biden. Please spare me. At least anonymous proves one apparent fact..... that ignorance and stupidity are far more present today than ever.....

and thus the delightful state of our economy and country....

The newbie vs. the veteran. The short-timer vs. the lifer. The historic candidate vs. the candidate who's lived history.

On one hand, you have the untested Palin, the first-term Alaska governor plucked from relative obscurity by Republican nominee Senator John McCain last month and thrust into the harsh national spotlight, so far to middling results. On the other, there's 35-year Senate veteran Biden, whose experience on foreign policy and the inner workings of government is unquestionable, but whose tendency to go "off message" has frequently come back to bite him.

Biden

His strengths: Biden's working-class Irish Catholic roots in Scranton, Pennsylvania, (relatively) modest income and well-documented daily train trips home from Washington to Delaware give him an everyman appeal that works in the Democrats' favor at a time when the middle class is worried about the economy and home mortgage defaults. It also helps him combat Obama's Ivy League image, putting Biden on more equal footing with the meat-and-potatoes backstory Palin has rolled out during her run. With two failed presidential runs and nearly four decades of mixing it up in the Senate under his belt, he's got plenty of experience when it comes to speaking his mind.

The six-term Democrat is also chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee and former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. He participated in 14 of the 26 Democratic presidential debates before dropping out of the race in early January.

His weaknesses

Anonymous said...

The author needs to proofread first! :-) Sorry!